Newark schools: Superintendent pick backs out

ANTIOCH -- The Antioch school board has convinced Superintendent Donald Gill to stay after the Newark school district had tapped him to assume the top job there.

Gill said Friday he decided to stay in Antioch after school board members increased his salary and asked him to finish important district projects.

Newark trustees had chosen Gill to lead their district after interviewing him in closed session for more than two hours last week. Gill's decision sent Newark Unified back to its superintendent-search consultant just days before the start of school.

Newark's board announced the surprising turn of events Friday, Superintendent Dave Marken's final day. Last week, the Newark school board's legal counsel, in anticipation of hiring a new superintendent, asked Marken to vacate his office well before his Sept. 30 resignation date.

Gill on Friday elaborated on the programs he wants to keep working with: efforts to turn Dozier-Libbey Medical High School into a district-run charter and to make progress on its African-American Male Achievement Initiative.

"Those are two big ones," he said. "Also, the residents voted to renovate Antioch High, and we're looking at renovating other schools."

Antioch's offer was made in a special closed session Wednesday, in which Gill participated by phone from San Diego hours after the birth of his second grandchild.

"I'm required by contract to inform the board if another district selected me as a finalist," said Gill, 62. "They wanted to know if they could match Newark's offer, and they were able to."

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Gill, who said he earned a base salary of $236,000 this year, has been Antioch's superintendent for six years. He said his new salary likely will rise each year by 2.5 percent but that details still must be completed, pending a meeting with district leaders and board approval.